Cops will whisk suspected drunken drivers off the street for quick testing, under new procedures announced yesterday.
The overhaul appears to be a response to the embarrassing seven-hour delay that kept officers from determining the blood alcohol content of an off-duty officer who ran down a minister’s daughter in September.
Under the old system, police often had to wait at the scene of a DWI stop for a portable Breathalyzer and an officer trained to use it. Then they had to transport the suspect to the local precinct house for processing before heading to a testing center for a second breath exam.
Now, officers will take the suspect directly to one of the city’s six testing centers.
Cops will also alert the appropriate DA’s office immediately after a suspect refuses a Breathalyzer. This will speed the issuing of warrant to draw blood.
In September, Officer Andrew Kelly refused a Breathalyzer after hitting and killing 33-year-old Vionique Valnord in Brooklyn. By the time cops obtained a warrant to draw blood, the test revealed no alcohol in his system.